Platini: Champions League can accomodate 2022 World Cup

Michel Platini would be prepared to move the UEFA Champions League's latter stages to June in order to accommodate the 2022 World Cup.

Published

5 November 2014

The world game's governing body has attracted significant criticism for its decision to award the tournament to Qatar, with the Arab country's stifling summer climate one of the causes for concern.

Qatar's bidding group remains confident in its assertion that the event can be held in its traditional June/July time slot, but a FIFA taskforce is set to propose January/February 2022 and November/December 2022 as options - with May also a potential idea.

While FIFA continues to seek a solution for a competition awarded to Qatar in 2010, UEFA president Platini does not feel the Champions League semi-finals or final represent a problem.

"As the president of the confederation I have no problem... because it is not a problem for the competition of the Champions League," he told various media outlets on Wednesday.

"We can move the dates in 2022 and have two semi-finals and the final in June, so that is not a problem."

Platini also claimed that a solution was close, but noted that November and December are earmarked for international fixtures.

"Everybody speaks about the clubs and the leagues, but if it is in November and December then you lose six dates of the national teams," he added.

"But we are not so far away with FIFA. We are not so far from a good solution."